Bullied bus monitor Karen Klein is keeping it real with the $700,000 in public donations that she received after a video of a group of seventh grade boys verbally assaulting her went viral a year ago. The generous fundraising effort, spearheaded by 25-year-old Canadian Max Sidorov, meant that the 68-year-old woman could finally retire and free herself from the cruel taunts of the immature boys.

You can see the original bullying video and the initial public response in the two videos I’ve posted below.

But the story of the bullied bus monitor continues to provide inspiration to others a year later. Let’s be honest. We all know the horror stories of people who come into sudden wealth, only to blow every last penny and end up in an even worse mess than before.

Karen Klein, now 69, didn’t let that happen. A touching story in the Watertown Daily Times, a local New York news source, explained:

“No new carpet or furniture for the home she’s lived in for 46 years. No fancy car in the driveway.

“After being gifted a life-changing sum following a school bus bullying episode seen around the world a year ago, former bus monitor Karen Klein says she really hasn’t changed all that much.”

Instead, the unassuming former bus monitor is quietly using some of the money to fund a peaceful retirement for herself — and also to provide $100,000 in seed money for the Karen Klein Anti-Bullying Foundation. She wants to pass on the kindness that she herself received in the aftermath of the hateful attack seen on the infamous YouTube video.

In a recent effort, the Moscow Ballet partnered with Karen Klein’s foundation to increase the awareness of cyberbullying, which can reach right into someone’s home to strike at a vulnerable victim.

Here’s the original upsetting bullying footage against the bus monitor. Almost 1.5 million viewers have already seen the YouTube viral video:

Here is a report on the outpouring of public support that followed the awful footage:

Bullied bus monitor Karen Klein had the last laugh, but it looks like she didn’t let it change her heart.